Monthly Archives: March 2013

Wine, Volcanoes, and the Dioxides

Posted on March 24, 2013 by gymnosperm

Making wine teaches important lessons about the wee beastie soup we live in, call it the dim sum. It also holds lessons about Carbon and Sulfur. Carbon and Sulfur were instrumental in the evolution of life on this planet, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Biology, History, History of Life, Metaphor, Ocean Acidification | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Duty of Truth

Posted on March 17, 2013 by gymnosperm

Those who work at public institutions owe the public, their patrons, a duty of truth. Private citizens are free to engage in any foolishness that suits them, but public servants must be held to a higher standard. The graph above … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, Global Warming, Paleoclimate | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s the Beef, Or the World Economy Explained by a Billion Cows

Posted on March 9, 2013 by gymnosperm

Grasses coevolved with ungulates (we can call them cows). About 30 million years ago due to declining temperature, humidity, and atmospheric Carbon dioxide a bunch of plants including grasses evolved a more efficient form of photosynthesis called C4. This allowed them … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Climate, Climate Change, Economics, Geography, History, History of Life, Paleoclimate, Salvation from Cows | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hawaii

Posted on March 3, 2013 by gymnosperm

By incredibly good luck I’ve been spending lots of time in Hawaii lately, on business no less. I stay in this unbelievable house.   One really gets the sense of being out in the middle of the ocean in Hawaii, … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Geoid, Geology, Gravity Anomalies, Oceanography, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment